Rose the Red Riding Hood
by Enerjack
Summary: (AU) Ren and Nora aren't here. Pyrrha is hunted by Weiss. Jaune is a genius mechanic, and Ruby's best friend. Yang was taken away to become a guardian. Blake and Adam are Cinder's androids gone rogue. And Ruby is Vale's superheroine. Old friends will reunite, but can they really rekindle what they've lost? And in time for the attack of the insane Cinder Fall?
1. Fates Intertwined

**This is gonna be a bit weird. I first uploaded this story with ONLY Ruby's segment, and with a different authors note at the end. I edited the note, and added Yang's segment to this first chapter. So make sure to read up on Yang's!**

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><p>She couldn't see anything. No matter where she looked, all she could see was pitch-black darkness. Not only that, but there was something eerie settling down over this place. Almost like some sort of chill, but much worse than that. It was something that went deeper than just icy pricks on the skin. There was also the fact that she couldn't see a thing, not even her own hand when she waved it in front of her eyes.<p>

_Where am I?_

There was no way she was going to find out her location if it was this dark. Fortunately, her semblance had a unique side effect that summoned flames. Smashing her fists together, she felt her hair rise and burst into flames.

Yet somehow, the darkness refused to leave. Even with the amount of light she was now generating as she kept clashing fists, the darkness was still there, almost as if glued to the air and unable to back away from the light.

"Where…" She was about to repeat her thoughts out loud, but she finally spotted something in this dark void. Something red at the corner of her eye caught her attention. Almost immediately, she snapped her body around to face it, but as fast as it appeared, it was gone, as if it vanished into thin air.

That, along with the color, were the first hints, and the only ones she'd need.

"Ruby…?"

She heard sniffling behind her. Turning around, she found her. Ruby Rose was kneeling down, facing away from her. She stepped forward, calling out again, fear and anxiety in her tone. "Rub-"

"You left me…"

The sheer cold and ferocity of that statement alone hit her like a mountain. What's worse, it was true. No matter what she did, she'd left Ruby Rose alone. Granted, Ruby still had her father and her friends, but that did little to dull the pain of losing an older sister.

"I'm so-"

"YOU WERE THE ONE I NEEDED, AND YOU LEFT ME!" Ruby screamed, standing up to her full height. Rose petals flew out of her cape, but they were wilting as fast as they were coming out.

And without even thinking, she lashed back. "YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT NEEDED ME! I THOUGHT YOU UNDERSTOOD!" The once bright flames that burned on her hair flickered into nothing more than just embers. It broke her to see Ruby like this, to have to talk to her like this, weeping like a child that lost its mother. But this had happened before. Ruby lost her mother, and for the second time in her life, she lost another family member.

Her sister.

And just like that, it was over. She regained full control of her body and mind. Glad that the nightmare was finally over, she opened her eyes.

Yang Xiao Long let out a breath mingled with exhaustion and frustration. For a long time, she's had this job. Ever since it was revealed that she was part of the Xiao Long family, Yang was taken away by her relatives to become the guardian of the legendary jewel that held infinite power which could easily destroy the planet if it fell into the wrong hands.

The Master Crystal. Essentially, a giant, green emerald.

This was the very future that the brawler's father, Taiyang Xiao Long had feared. So when he married Ruby and Yang's mothers, he changed his last names to fit theirs to protect Yang. But even through his efforts, his deceit was revealed, and Yang was taken as a way to punish Taiyang for hiding from his blood lineage's fate.

There was a fight, but with the help of a legendary artifact on the Xiao Long's side, it was lost. Yang was taken away, and Ruby was left questioning why her sister had to leave like her mother did.

She was introduced to Angel Island, something Yang compared to a giant boulder that had life on it. It wasn't too far off of the actual thing. It was an enormous island that had mountains and forests, along with an altar and a shrine that held the Master Crystal. This was the reason why the island was able to float; the sheer energy generated by the crystal gave the island the ability to hover miles in the air. At first, Yang was amazed that something this big was so easily hidden from the world. She guessed that it had something to do with the energy that kept it afloat.

When she was left on the job, Yang had little information. She was basically told to guard the gem with her life and not to leave the island. Something about some force field chaining her wouldn't let her leave.

That didn't stop Yang from atleast trying. Unfortunately, the Xiao Longs were right; There was indeed a force field to restrict her movement from beyond the islands boundaries. No matter how hard she pushed, it felt as if there was a solid bubble of air to pull her back within the islands. It drove her mad, knowing that there was an immovable object so close that she couldn't break past.

Other than that, the other things that were told to her were that food and protection wouldn't be a problem. The energy that emanated from the gem automatically satisfied all needs of the human body, as long as that body belonged to the guardian. Yang didn't have to find food, water, or build shelter. Any damage sustained would heal away, and she'd never feel thirst or hunger.

When she first learned this, she felt happy and satisfied to know that she wouldn't have to do much more than guard a giant rock. But as time passed, she realized how much of a hell the job could be.

Without shelter, she had to sleep on stone.

Without thirst, she couldn't feel refreshed from drinking water.

WIthout hunger, she couldn't feel the joy of filling her stomach with something delectable.

And without something to do, other than just sitting around guarding a glowing boulder, Yang felt like she was dying. She wasn't about sitting around, it wasn't in her blood, as ironic as it sounds. She was built for moving around, for doing instead of sitting.

For fighting.

That was a guilty pleasure of hers, but what could she do? Fighting had proved to be a solid companion. It made her strong, and it was also a nice way to vent. The pillars around the shrine weren't the best punching bags, and Yang already wrecked a good fourth of the forest on a raging spree during her years on Angel Island. Wouldn't want to anger the non-existant environmentalists, right?

For a long time, she hated the position. She was forced away from her friends, her family, her little sister, all for a job that she didn't sign up for.

But eventually, she learned to stamp down those thoughts. She was a Xiao Long. That meant millions of her ancestors suffered the same fate, some for their entire lives. Yang was told she should feel lucky she got to spend time at all with the other half of her family.

As her thoughts drifted back to the status of her younger sister, she realized that the Ruby she was imagining was nothing more than a faceless, grey blob. She tried to recall her actual appearance, but after years of separation, Yang realized how blurry her memories were.

Still...Blurry enough to almost forget what her own family looked like?

Giving up on trying to remember her full appearance, Yang sat down at the top of the stairs that led down to the ground. She looked at the clouds that drifted by, each one taking its own shape like a person would their clothing. It was something that amused her, enough to start naming various shapes and sizes of clouds that would pass by.

Yang always did tell Ruby that the blonde would go crazy if she didn't have something to punch.

The clouds darkened, as if it could feel Yang's emotions, and the guardian realized that she was on the verge of tears.

Tears…

Water…

Clouds…

With a frown, Yang snapped up, as straight as a board. _Something's not right…_ The clouds were white, and they were all separated. So how was there a giant shadow casting across the entire island? That wasn't how weather worked, was it?

Yang was about to look up, but a quake shook her down on to her rear before she got the chance. She yelped in surprise, rubbing her bottom. "What the…" Then, there was a loud noise right behind her. Something shattered. Turning around, her worst nightmares were confirmed.

Yang's eyes widened, and almost immediately, her hair flared and her lilac eyes shifted to red.

"NO!"

The Master Crystal was broken. All that was left in its shrine were a few, meaningless pieces and shards. And on them...was some sort of creature. Yang could of sworn she saw something else, something pink and spherical float off into the air, but it was hard to see through the darkness. None of that mattered, though. Rage and confusion clouded Yang's judgement, and she lunged forward, her fist drawn back.

The creature didn't move, yet when her most powerful blow came into contact with its head, it didn't even flinch.

"What th-"

Something blocked her hit. It glowed with a bright green color. There was a blinding flash of white, and a force hit Yang with enough power to blast her backward right over the stone stairs and on to the earth below.

"Urgh…"

She shook her head, trying to regain her sense of balance as she stood back up. Her arms stretched out to keep herself steady, her sight slowly returned to her, and right in front of her were the stairs leading up to the altar. And the attacker.

"That...little…" Gritting her teeth, she forced down the pain and rushed back up the stairs. But by the time she made it, it was too late. The monster was gone, and so was the emerald.

The strange shadow was gone, too. But that was the least of her problems. Another quake, even bigger than the last one, had took hold of the floating island.

This time, Yang knew what was going on. With terror in her heart, she gulped.

"The island's falling." She murmured out loud, already feeling the island's energy start to dissipate as it started to free-fall down into the ocean.

Grabbing hold on to a nearby pillar, she braced herself as the island started to fall at terminal velocity. However, the surface was closer than Yang expected. With an incredibly loud and powerful impact, Angel Island smashed into the ocean, one of its side scraping against the adjacent landmass that led off into the forest named Mystic Ruins.

Yang managed to tank the force, but her legs wobbled. Using the structure as a support, she pulled herself up on to her feet, her head racking with pain.

Then, it all went away with just one epiphany.

If the Master Crystal had no more energy to support the island, then that must of meant…

With renewed strength, she pushed hard against the ground, and ran as fast as she could towards the edge of the island and towards the forest that was now joined to the islands sides.

She'd reached the border of the island, being able to tell by the massive crack that separated the island from the land. Though noticeable, one could easily just step over it to cross islands.

Holding her breath, Yang inched her foot closer and closer, and then…

...she made it over. Now past the line, she took a moment to register her newfound freedom. She couldn't believe it. Just like that, she was finally free.

But there was still something she had to do.

"Ruby…" Her voice was no more than a whisper, but there was still the pain of a lost, yet determined sister.

"I hope you're alright."

If she was correct, then Ruby should be attending school by now. At the age of...15?

_I'm gonna have to get a calendar…_

The recent weather and climate suggested that it was summer. Ruby was either out of school, or she would be.

Either way, Yang was determined to find her. To reunite with the family that was taken away from her.

* * *

><p>Usually, falling rose petals would make people look up in curiosity-or even worry. After all, it wasn't exactly natural for falling petals to be a form of precipitation. And lately, things that were unnatural led to danger for the citizens of Vale.<p>

Who ever did look up, though, didn't do it for the above two reasons-They did it because they wanted to see their resident savior of the city. Appearing seemingly out of no where some time ago, this 'superhero' had taken it upon herself to protect people from crimes and violence of all kinds. Rose the Red Riding Hood was the name that would be associated with the heroine behind a mask.

The hooded blur jumped across rooftops, speeding horizontally across walls of buildings, occasionally waving and greeting, with a strangely child-like voice, a stranger that called out to her. "Hey there!" She would call, before running off.

After a lengthy jog(As she would call it) to re-familiarize herself with the routes, streets, and jumps of the top of the city, she finally stopped at the edge of a building that overlooked a street below.

"Aww, yeah! I'm finally back!"

Her famous red cape flowing in the wind, hood hiding her identity, Rose spread out her arms, relishing the feeling of the night wind blowing past her. She couldn't keep herself from grinning, the air blowing past her instilling as much glee as a child might get from the hug of their mother.

"It's been too long, city of Vale, but your lovable heroine is back!"

Almost immediately, the city decided to throw trouble at her. She could never catch a break, but she didn't mind. Anything for the citizens, right?

"Huh?"

The sound of distant sirens-More than enough to suggest some petty crime-all came closer to her, across the street below as they sped off towards the nearby hotel. Her interest now piqued, she jumped down and landed without a scratch, staring at the direction the police cars sped towards.

"Something must be wrong..." She thought aloud. And without a second thought, she activated her semblance, disappearing into a trail of blurred red-and-black and rose petals.

Rose heard gunshots, a LOT of them. And there was screaming. She pushed her legs to the limit, the sight of the red-and-blue lights getting closer and closer. "C'moon!"

She arrived within record time, jumping on to the top of a police car over a crowd that had gathered at the gates to the hotel. Inside were the police, shooting at some strange figure.

"Jones, our guns aren't doing anything!"

"I SEE THAT! EVERYONE, CLEAR OUT!"

The order carried out, and they all evacuated the square, but the two officers had stayed behind. They were still shooting the attacker, who was doing nothing but taking the bullets. It didn't phase it at all; They simply bounced off.

"Gavin, get your big nose out of here!"

"Only if you do!"

Now the creature started to walk towards them. A green light enveloped the monster, and the ground below it started cracking.

Having an idea of what was coming, Gavin ran towards the side, arms waving. "OVER HERE, YOU BIG BLOB!" He screamed, the monster turning its attention away from Jones and the crowd. Now facing the wall, the energy grew brighter.

"GAVIN, GET OUT OF THERE!" Jones screamed, but it was too late.

A large, green, orb of energy exited the creatures chest, heading straight for Gavin.

Then there was an explosion.

"NO!" Jones screamed.

He'd just witnessed the death of his fellow officer, and best friend.

...or so he thought.

The smoke cleared away, and to the confusion of the weeping Jones, the crowd started to cheer.

"What the…" Wiping away his tears, Jones stood up to see a sight that filled him with relief and joy.

Gavin was safe, and Rose had her cape drawn forward, a thin, sheet of red aura dissipating.

"R-Rose?!" The scared officer stuttered.

"I'll take care of this! Go back to your friend!"

Nodding furiously, Gavin left to join his friend outside the gates, who reprimanded him, though gave him a hug.

"Dude, we do NOT get paid enough for this crap."

Rose chuckled, and turned her attention back to the creature, which had just came in to view.

"Whoa...This is new..."

If there was a word to describe the creature, Rose didn't know it.

The first thing that one would note of it was that it was clearly not human-nothing even close, actually. It was quadrupedal, and green. _Very_ green. In fact, that was the only color it was-besides a bit of white. It also seemed to be made of some strange...energy, instead of flesh. Faint, white streams flowed away from its center until they grew thinner and thinner the further they got, eventually fading in to the green.

It wasn't large, but it had the size of a large human. Its arms and legs shared each others same size, and were thick as tree trunks. The arms and legs were discernable because, although they looked the same, they led to clear hands and feet. The hands were large and round, with three, thick claws jutting out as if they were broadened points of the vertexes of a triangle. The feet also had claws, but unlike the hands, they were all pointed forward in the same direction.

As for the head, it had very little neck. The head was also round, but its large amount of short hair was spiky, leaning backward and out as if it were a mane. Its face had only eyes. White, glowing eyes that were shaped like upside-down domes, yet angled in a way that made it appear as if it were angry.

"You got a name?" She asked. Of course, it was like Rose to ask an unknown, highly-dangerous and possibly violent creature what it's name was before beating it into a mush.

The creature gave no response, only switching glances between its new opponent and the crowd of innocents.

With a frown, Rose knew that she had to keep its attention as long as possible, atleast until the people were evacuated. Speaking of which-Why were they still here? She turned towards them and shouted as sternly as she could,

"You guys, get out of here! I know you want to enjoy the show and all, but I'd rather you watch it on Dusttube than risk your lives here!"

And just like that, they all started running.

"That was easy…" Rose muttered, turning back to her enemy. Making sure that it wouldn't take its eyes off of her, she jumped towards it.

Landing a few feet in front of the creature, she smiled. "Hey there! Nice to meet you!" She waved, the creature staring at her hand curiously. Its only response was a growl, and without warning, rose on to its feet.

Apparently, it was also bipedal.

It also raised its arm towards Rose, its palm open and facing towards her.

Rose frowned. Was this it's attempt at a handshake? Not that it was possible with the way its hand and claws were shaped, but that wasn't going to stop the reaper.

"Uhh…" Her optimism stepping over suspicion, she mimicked the gesture, reaching out with her own hand before she realized that there was a glow coming from the creatures chest. It was moving slowly, but gaining speed, as it surged towards the creatures arm. It spread down to its wrist, then to its palm, before-

"Aww, nuts."

A wave of pure energy burst from its palm and knocked Rose backward, right in to a streetlamp.

"Owowowow!" She yelped, her hands covering the spot on her head where she was hit. It stung, but fortunately, her aura took most of the pain away, though it didn't fully negate the blurs that now took over her sight.

Once her eyes returned to normal condition, she stood up, ignoring the slight aching in her legs. With a childish pout on her face that probably would've made any other criminal apologize, she shouted angrily, "No fair!" Stamping her feet down on the ground, her hands curled into fists.

The creature gave no response, choosing only to walk towards her with more energy starting to surge from its center. At that point, Rose realized something.

That wave...It felt familiar. She recognized it as a technique commonly used by aura users. Heck, even she's used the same technique at times. Then, it made sense why the creature looked the way it did.

"No way...That thing's made of pure aura!"

Aura itself was a very powerful weapon if used correctly. But a creation made of _pure _aura? Rose had never faced anything like the creature before her, but she had enough experience to know that playtime was over.

With a grin unfitting of a seemingly innocent 15-year old girl, she reached behind her back, gripping on to the handle of her weapon. She swept it out, the weapon automatically unfurling in to its full, deadliest form.

With a flourish for the fans, she slammed the tip of its blade into the earth, her cape billowing in the wind in a way that would make her younger self squeal in joy.

"Say hello to my sweetheart, Crescent Rose!"

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><p><strong>About time I finally post this, this was a series in the works for like 2-3 months.<strong>

**But yes, new series! Hope you all like it. Also, PLEASE leave a review about anything. Positives, negatives(This especially), your thoughts, I need to know! This chapter was more like an interest check at first, but then it became its own full blown-out chapter.**

**Also, might as well say it. This whole verse IS based off a video game franchise, but it won't be too similar to it. I already got like 5 plot twists ready, most not even for this arc. Take a guess at what the franchise is! Pretty obvious imo...**

**Have a Happy New Year, everybody!**


	2. New Age

Day 1 - 14:00

…

"_Activate C-04!"_

Sight finally came to its eyes as it woke up from its hibernation. It stared curiously at the man standing in front of it, before it's head turned to memorize the details of the room it was housed. It wasn't small, but not very large, it's design following that of a domed workshop. And in that workshop, they were on a catwalk that spanned the length of the whole edge of the room.

"Hey, hey!" Snapping his fingers, Roman Torchwick brought the attention of his new subject back to him. "Now, listen up, you hear me?" With a sigh that gave away his frustration with his current job, he leaned down on his cane. "You're the fourth model of our first, legendary android series made to serve just us! Yippee, whoo-hoo, and all that." Roman rolled his eyes, now starting to twirl his cane. The 'android' paid no attention to his action, only focusing on his speech. "You get your own code name, too. You better remember this because I'm not repeating it. You are C-04, code named Belladonna. Got it?" He asked, setting the cane down once more.

Belladonna looked down at her hands, her thumbs brushing against her palms. Though she was an android, even she would of saw difficulty in trying to realize this fact; Her skin felt perfectly identical to that of a human. Not that she'd ever touched one before.

"Belladonna…" She repeated, her face and tone devoid of any emotion. She looked back at her 'master', and nodded. "I live to serve."

Roman smiled. So far, this was going good. This was a fact he'd keep hidden in case of complications, but Belladonna was actually the first android not to raise any questions at their sudden awakening and life objective.

"All right, then!" Again, Roman twirled his cane, whether it be habit or some sort of condescending remark. Then he turned away and walked down the stairs that led to the floor of the room. When he noticed that the only footsteps in the room were still his, he turned back, frowning. "Well, what're you waiting for? C'mon, we haven't got all day!"

Belladonna looked down at her feet. As if she were being cautious, she raised one foot and placed it forward. Then, she did the same with the other.

"Achievement unlocked: Walk two freaking steps. Good job, now get down here!" Roman yelled, now halfway across the room. Belladonna nodded, and walked as fast as she could to catch up with Roman.

"My apologies." She bowed, eliciting a groan from Roman.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that before. Now, listen up. See these three doors? The middle one leads to the training room. Shooting range, targets, robots, blablabla. Go in there, and just do what you do best." He pointed towards the three metal, sliding doors at the middle of the wall in front of them. Belladonna walked towards the middle, but stopped when it opened for her. She hesitated, unsure of what Roman was asking her to do. If she failed an objective, she'd fail her mission. She needed to make sure of what it was she was doing. The android turned towards her master.

"What is it I do best?"

The rogue frowned, as if he were disappointed that the robot couldn't figure it out herself. "Well, isn't it obvious?"

Roman walked back up the flight of stairs, stopping at the top before he looked back at Belladonna with an uncanny, dark smile on his face.

"Kill."

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><p>Day 1 - 23:38<p>

Jaune was getting worried. It'd been a few hours since he'd last seen Pyrrha. She said that she needed to clear her head, but it never took THIS long to finish a walk in the forest.

It had been a month since school ended, but it was only mid-June. The teachers at Signal were all hunters, and they were needed for an important, and very large mission. Because of this, the students were granted a month-early vacation. And for the students in their final years, an early graduation. These specific students included Jaune and Ruby, and the moment she was out of school, she disappeared with just one goodbye.

Jaune knew that it was Ruby's 'thing' to do this, to disappear. But it had been one full month since he'd seen his old, best friend. Since then, he secluded himself in his workshop near the Mystic Ruins. His workshop had 2 floors, and a basement level. It was yellow, had gray roofs, was octagonal, and it lied on the top of a flat hill with stone stairs that led down to a larger, circular platform. This also had stairs that led to the ground.

Jaune always found comfort in tinkering with his inventions. A discovery of an ancient power source especially helped to fuel his drive. Making friends was nice, but unlike machines, it came with problems that relied on emotions and heart. Jaune wasn't the best at those kinds of situations.

Then, Pyrrha found where he was staying. Pyrrha did not attend Signal, but she moved from Atlas to go to Vale as a vacation spot. This happened 2 years ago. Jaune had no idea he'd become best friends with a tournament champion, but he chose to ignore that fact for Pyrrha when they bumped in to each other. For the last 2 years, they met during the summer, at Jaune's home or at his workshop where they'd tinker with weapons and machinery. If neither the two were available to them, they'd resort to chatting over scroll or communication centers, also options they used during their school days. This year, Pyrrha returned again, and found Jaune at his workshop. It was a day ago when she found him, and when she revealed her presence in Vale to him, Jaune became upset that she forgot about her. Pyrrha reassured him that it was fine.

So why was it taking so long for Pyrrha to return?

He'd thought many times to go out and find her himself, but his thoughts always turned back to Pyrrha's firm, confident tone.

"_I'll be fine, Jaune!" She smiled. "You don't have to worry so much about me, you know."_

"I know…" He muttered out loud, staring at the empty air as he spun around on his chair. As much as he'd hate to admit it, that wasn't the only factor. Despite training in a combat school, Jaune still had issues in combat, and he knew that. So if he encountered any monsters, he'd have to fight, which wasn't something he liked to do. And it wasn't just his shortcomings in combat. As much as he was ashamed to admit it, he had fears, many of which he considered silly. One such fear was fear of the unknown, which was his excuse for being afraid of being in the dark. It made him feel pathetic, to be pushed back by something so small. Despite his desire to become strong, when he found himself facing his fears up close, he'd more often than not turn back.

But no matter what, when it came to his closest friends, he felt like he'd tear through the darkness just to help them.

He could still feel his worry increase. _She's in danger! Find her!_

The urge to leave was also growing strong, and that explosion outside only served to increase that need.

...Explosion?

_BOOM!_

Jaune fell off his seat, but that was only the beginning. There was such power in the ongoing tremors that the blonde felt like he was repeatedly smacking his face in to the ground. And it hurt, a lot.

"Owowowowow!" He repeated, trying to push himself off. But he couldn't, so he resorted to using his aura to dull the pain and wait out the earthquake. Fortunately, it didn't take long. Only a minute, and the shock wave had passed.

Jaune stood up, his eyes sharp and alert. _There's no way that was an earthquake. _ He didn't know how, but he didn't care. It wasn't tectonic plates that caused it, it was something else. And Jaune had a sneaky suspicion of what it was. He hoped he was wrong, it was something he was always paranoid of ever since he made _that _discovery when he built his second home in this location.

The swordsman donned his armor and Crocea Mors, and rushed out of his home. He headed towards the forest, known as the Mystic Ruins. That was where Pyrrha went, and that was also where the tremors came from. Any fear he had of traversing a forest in the dark was stomped out by his concern over his friend.

* * *

><p>"PYRRHA!"<p>

It'd taken him half an hour, but Jaune was given advice from Ruby on how to properly run and conserve energy. Taking heed to her advice, he managed to run through the entire forest, taking little to no breaks, eyes scouring through the trees and bushes as he searched frantically for his friend. The only reason he could see as clearly as he could was because he was generating so much aura that it was creating light.

And then he found her. There his friend laid, but she was sitting down, leaning against a tree. Her being unconscious wasn't what frightened Jaune; It was the fact that she was covered in her own blood. And it came from the gaping hole in the center of her midriff.

The blonde ran over, falling to his knees as his thoughts ran wild.

"Pyrrha-You're-Wake up!" He screamed, tears leaking as he tried to get his friend to wake from unconsciousness. But it was useless.

_She's...Dead…?!_

"_Remember, Jaune; Don't lose your cool. You're a hunter-in-training! And hunter's can't give up!"_

Ruby had taught him many things during their time at Signal. Honestly, if it weren't for her, Jaune may not have gotten to where he was now.

With the old advice now in mind, he forced himself to calm down. Taking deep breaths, he placed a finger on her neck to feel for a pulse, once again holding his breath. He let it out, overjoyed for just a moment; She was alive, but barely. Her pulse was weak, but if he hurried, he could make it back.

But just as Jaune reached towards her to carry her back to the workshop, he stopped. His eyes widening, he called out once more, but this time in confusion. "P-...Pyrrha…?!"

Pyrrha's aura wasn't green, nor was Jaune's. So how could there be green aura coming out of the warrior's wound? He was too shocked of her appearance at first to notice, but now that he did, he wondered how long it had been there.

The unfamiliar aura worked quickly, forming threads that connected to the other side. Enough strings connected so that the hole was completely covered in green. Then, in just a moment, it disappeared, leaving clear, unharmed skin, and presumably everything else that should've been in there.

Pyrrha stirred.

"J...aune?" She called out feebly, her half-lidded eyes unfocused.

"You're okay!" He cried, pulled her towards him.

"J-Jaune, you're…"

"I'm okay, but you-"

"Suffocating…"

"OH-"

Jaune let go, unaware of the amount of strength he'd just forced on his friend. "Pyrrha, what happened to you?! You went for a walk hours ago, and now you're here with a hole in your stomach that healed in mo-"

Being reminded of her wound made Pyrrha force herself up on to her feet, hands clamped against the trunk her back was against.

"Pyrrha, wait, you're-" Jaune stood up, his hands reaching towards her, but Pyrrha shook her head.

"Jaune, please-We need...We need to go back, in case that..._thing_…is still here!"

Jaune gritted his teeth. He hated having to push Pyrrha to her limit, but she had a point. If they didn't leave soon, they'd end up being killed by whatever did this to her.

* * *

><p>Day 1 - 22:54 (42 minutes ago)<p>

Pyrrha couldn't see much, but she knew why.

"...Oh…." She frowned, rubbing her eyes.

"I…" She yawned, her arms extending as she felt her bones and shoulders pop. "...fell asleep…" The warrior finished, standing up lazily.

Then she felt it. That powerful tremor. She was too exhausted to have immediately sensed it, but now that she was awake, she could feel the ground beneath her shake as if the entire earth was tearing apart.

"Wh-What the…?!" She balanced herself, taking care not to fall. Then, the shock wave passed away. "What was…?" The redhead murmured, confused at the sudden earthquake. But it couldn't of been an earthquake...Atleast, that's what her aura told her.

She reached in to her pocket to take out her scroll, but was frustrated to find that she didn't take it with her. "Darn…" With no sense of time, she walked off towards Jaune's workshop. Fortunately, she'd memorized the paths and routes of the forest, so finding her way back wouldn't be too hard, even with the darkness.

After a few minutes, she stopped walking. Her aura alerted her to the presence of another being. This creature was...powerful. But there was something else.

Her aura's natural ability to detect danger did little in this situation where she could barely see. So, she relied on her hearing. Her eyes shut, she pointed her ears towards any noise she could hear, whether it be a squirrel fleeing into its home, an owl hooting during its flight, or the strange creature that was making large imprints in to the ground as it stomped its way towards Pyrrha.

Oh, that's what scared her aura.

Listening to it once more, she jumped to the side as something smashed into the ground she stood on, creating an explosion.

What ever it was that attacked her, Pyrrha was glad that it was somehow producing its own light. Then she realized it wasn't it's own body that was creating the light; It was itself charging it's aura.

She sidestepped another blast, a wave that left ripples and distortions in the air as it sped by. One look at the creature, and Pyrrha knew what she had to do.

Using her semblance, her weapons flew to her hands, and she entered a battle stance.

* * *

><p>Jaune slammed his hands against his table, eliciting a yelp from Pyrrha, who was resting on his bed.<p>

"Jaune!" She yelled, watching him as he sat down on his chair, his face in his hands.

"This is _her _fault!" He yelled through gritted teeth.

"Jaune, you know that she'd never mean for this to happen." Pyrrha tried to calm him down. The blonde looked at her, a tense silence settling down on the room. But Pyrrha's stern gaze kept him from blazing out with anger.

"I just…" He shut his mouth, trying to find words to express what he felt without showing disrespect. "...Yang had a job, and she failed to keep it." Jaune was well aware of the floating island mere miles from his home and in the skies, along with its guardian. When Yang was taken, Ruby went to the one person that had a chance to fill the gap her sister left; Jaune. She told him everything she knew, and he reassured her it'd be okay, that she'd see Yang again.

When Jaune built his workshop near the Mystic Ruins and set up a miniature weather station, he noticed something strange in the skies. After realizing that it was a giant island, it wasn't too hard to put two and two together and realize that Ruby's sister was Jaune's next-door neighbor.

Pyrrha sighed. "Jaune, I know you've read up on the old history books, but there's so little information, and it's still not solid evidence that this...thing-This..._monster._..came from the Master Cry-"

"But even without the textbooks, the signs are still there!" Jaune stood up. Although he was much more controlled, he still had to show Pyrrha that there was nowhere else the monster could've come from. "Angel Island's fallen, only possibility is a shattered Master Crystal, which Yang was suppose to protect! And out of it, just like the old textbooks speculated, comes a creature that would kill everyone! You were nearly it's first victim, and I-...I can't…" Jaune had to fight hard to prevent himself from becoming a sobbing mess. Jaune's fears of losing Pyrrha piled up to the point of breaking out of the dam that was holding them inside.

He had to stop himself from going any further. Sitting back down, he took deep breaths, Pyrrha looking down at her blanket.

"...What happened next?" He finally asked. Pyrrha, glad that they'd diverted a mental crisis, happily obliged with an answer.

"We...fought. At first, I thought I won, but then…" She frowned. "...It touched my circlet."

* * *

><p>She was beaten, battered, and bruised, but she was still alive. And she was going to finish this fight. Pyrrha reared her arm back and, with the aid of her weapons recoil, shot Milo towards the monster. It reared on to its back feet and roared, but the weapon pierced through its chest, pinning it to a tree behind it. It struggled feebly, trying to remove the spear from itself, but eventually, its arms fell limp.<p>

Pyrrha had her shield out in front of her as she inched towards the creature. She had no doubt that this creature had intelligence, so it was worth assuming that it might have been faking its death.

As she came closer, she used her semblance to retrieve her weapon. But when she took a closer look at it, she found herself mesmerized. It was nothing she'd ever seen before; A being of pure aura.

That was her mistake.

It lashed out, with more speed than it had ever displayed. Fortunately, Pyrrha's instinct saved her from a blast to the face. Instead, it grazed against her headpiece.

Something happened that Pyrrha would have difficulty explaining. She and the creature froze for a second as she could feel something..._drain _out of her headpiece and into the monster. It wasn't her own energy, so what was it? She wasn't going to stay still and find out. Kicking it further into the tree, she leapt back. Pyrrha didn't expect the monster to be right there in front of him, as if it'd just...teleported right in front of her.

The creature reached out, and Pyrrha couldn't do anything. It grabbed on to her face, and pushed her down on to the earth. The impact with the back of her head left stars in her eyes, but another problem arose. It's grip was starting to suffocate her; She couldn't breathe. It's hand kept her from breathing air through her mouth or her nose.

_Have to...escape! _She thought frantically, swinging Akuo towards it. The monster caught it with its other hand, and tore it from her grip. It tossed the shield away, and the hand clamped down on her throat.

With how little air her muscles were getting, Pyrrha let go of Milo, and resorted to using whatever strength remained in her to pry its limbs off. But she couldn't do it; The more time passed by, the less conscious she could feel. Just when she thought the situation couldn't get any worse, it did.

Energy pulsed throughout it's body. A large burst of it was travelling up it's arm, right in to it's hand.

_It's going to blast it's aura in to me?! _

She tried, but it was no use. She was trapped, but if she couldn't do anything, she'd die. In a moment of quick thinking and desperation, she used what ever aura she had left to shield the insides of her body. She could feel the pulse of energy travel down through her throat and into her stomach.

Then, everything burst into pain and red, before fading to black.

* * *

><p>"I fell unconscious, but…" Pyrrha shivered, the sense of a bomb going off inside her still present in her mind. "...Not before it exploded."<p>

Jaune stared at her, unsure of how he should react. Instead of trying to think of something to do, he listened to his heart.

He stood up, and walked towards her.

"Jaune…?" She asked, confused before she found herself between his arms. Without even realizing it, she hugged back, taking comfort in the warmth that came. She nearly whined when it left, but Jaune's close proximity was enough for her.

"I know I shouldn't really apologize, but…" Jaune laughed nervously, visibly brightening as Pyrrha chuckled.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you." He finished.

"It's fine…" She placed a hand on his shoulder, absentmindedly rubbing her thumb along it.

"It's over now."

Jaune sighed. He had to say this now.

"...Pyrrha, we both know that this isn't over. Where ever it is, I feel as if it's going to come back somehow."

Pyrrha didn't say anything, but Jaune was glad for that. He'd done enough talking for the day.

"You can take the bed, I'm going on to the couch," He muttered, standing up to walk out of the room.

"Wait!"

Jaune was suddenly pulled back, and he fell on to the floor. "Ow!" He yelped.

"I'm sorry!" He heard Pyrrha. He got up and dusted himself off.

"Why would…?" He looked at her, and noticed that her hand was outstretched. She must've accidentally used her Semblance to pull Jaune back.

"I…" Pyrrha placed a hand on her face, shaking her head. Jaune was confused.

"...What?" He finally asked.

"You don't...have to sleep...on the couch…" She murmured, turning away in an attempt to hide her face.

Jaune was still confused.  
>"...Wait, so where would I-"<p>

Jaune understood.

"Oh...OOH!"

Now Jaune was a stuttering mess.

"I-Err...Well-If it's too much trouble-"

Pyrrha was surprised to find herself laughing at how dorky Jaune was acting. "Jaune, it's-It's fine! I don't want you waking up with a stiff neck. There's plenty of room, anyway!"

Pyrrha wasn't exactly correct. The bed was made for one person, so unless they were close together, they wouldn't fit.

That fact wouldn't occur to Jaune until the last possible moment.

"...Oh, all right." He relented, taking off his gear.

"Don't forget to shower, you smell like trees." Pyrrha called out.

"Pyrrha, c'mon!" He whined, taking off his hoodie as he headed towards the door. Pyrrha knew Jaune was saying that telling someone they smelled like forest was rude, but she decided to take advantage of his choice of words.

She rolled her eyes. With the dark mood behind them now, it became slowly easier to find the fun in their current conversation. "I'm sorry, but I don't want the first time of us sleeping together to be filled with the smell of trees."

Jaune screamed into his hands as he left the room and kicked the door shut.

The redhead couldn't hold it in anymore; She laughed. If this was what it felt like to act like such a 'jerk', then it'd be worth it. Though she doubted she'd be able to get another moment like that with Jaune anytime soon.

There was an itch on her head, so she reached up to scratch it. Her hands glided over her circlet, and she froze. "That's right…" She murmured, taking it off to observe it. It was simply, really; Just a golden circlet.

With a small, diamond-shaped green gem engraved into its center.

Her thoughts went back to how the creature gained a power boost from touching it. She rubbed her thumb over it's gem. She'd always thought it was irrational to think such a thought, but now that something had happened involving it…

She wondered if the chills and energy she occasionally had were coming from the gem.

* * *

><p>Day 1 - 14:24<p>

She sheathed her weapon, taking time to breathe in the actions of what she'd accomplished. It felt natural, to tear through her enemies with her blade. Supposedly, that was good, given her best area of expertise.

She exited the room. If there were no targets, then it wouldn't make sense to stay in there. To her expectations, Roman stood in front of her, having appeared to be waiting for the android to appear.

"Hello there, kitty-cat!"

Belladonna stared at Roman, who stared back at her. The robot looked behind her to check if there was an unseen presence that Roman was talking to, but there was nothing. She turned back to the criminal, and asked, "Who is kitty-cat?"

_SMACK._

Roman removed his hand from his forehead. "Remind me to teach you about sarcasm and nicknames."

"You could simply download the information in to me instead of teaching me."

"But where's the fun in that?"

"I was not programmed to understand nor reap the benefits of 'fun'."

"That...is unfortunate, yet it comes with its benefits."

Belladonna chose not to press the matter. Roman took notice, and moved on to their next important discussion.

"C'mon, you've got a test to do. You pass, you get to be on our crew. You don't...Well, you're frikkin' useless."

He was about to lead her to a new room, but was stopped with her inquiry. "What crew?"

He turned towards her, his face matching that of worry for the first time since her activation. "...Sheesh, did Perry miss something when he filled your brain or what? The crew on the ship, moron!"

At this, Belladonna realized what Roman was talking about. The _ship_, the one that would carry out...a plan of some sort. She had no information on what this plan was, but that didn't matter; She knew what Roman meant.

"I understand."

"Good!" The rogue pushed by Belladonna and entered the left door of the three. The robot followed, their footsteps echoing throughout the metal hallway as they passed into the next room.

As she passed by the new room, she deduced that this must of been a larger storage space for more creations. She took glances at the other subjects in test tubes. Many were still in the process of being built. There was the occasional one or two that were complete, but they were still asleep. She saw two of them, one with white, long hair and the other with short, ginger hair.

"We're here!" He announced, stopping as they entered a new room. This one was similar in structure to the old one, except there were no catwalks; It was essentially a large dome with gray flooring and ceiling.

There was also another presence in the room.

"Beauty, meet Beast." The rogue fashionably twirled his arm, bowing and gesturing towards the other.

The stranger, who wore mainly black clothing in the form of a large coat, pants and shoes, turned and revealed his dyed red hair and mask with red symbols and marks.

Belladonna stared at him, and Taurus stared back, though his optics weren't visible to hers. Roman watched, smiling. "THIS is your second test, Belladonna. C-02, codenamed Taurus. The second model, so it's got to mean you're the stronger one, right?" He looked between the two, watching them analyze the other. "We'll see, though. Out of you two, one of you has to win. The winner then gets to go on a night cruise with us to the Island of Angels! You also become part of the crew that maintains the magnificence that is...The Dust Carrier!"

He frowned, sticking out his tongue. "Bleh...Sounded better in my head. Gonna need a new name…" With another twirl of the cane, he stepped out of the room through the door that they used to enter. When he reached the door, he stopped, and turned back to the two combatants.

"Don't fail this, Belle, or you're off the team."

Though it wasn't explicitly stated, his tone warned danger or punishment that would come to her if she couldn't complete this mission. With a sharp glare in her eyes, Belladonna reached back, and pulled out her weapons. Two swords in one, Gambol Shroud.

Taurus didn't move an inch, though the finger he laid on the trigger of some sheath on his side suggested that he preferred a style suited for sneak attacks.

Belladonna kneeled down on one leg, and pushed off against the ground, both blades reared back for a horizontal slash. Taurus still hadn't moved an inch. When she swung her blades towards him, he pulled the trigger on his sheath.

A blood-red blade was shot out, pushing back Gambol Shroud with an amazing amount of force, enough to make Belladonna stagger backward. Taurus caught his blade in a reverse grip, and he leapt towards the stunned android. He swung in an arc, cutting through her arm. Using the momentum to spin his sword in his hand back into a regular grip, he pulled out his sheath. It changed into a shotgun, and he took aim.

He fired right at the back of her head, then swung his sword forward, watching as her head disconnected from the rest of her body.

Without even waiting for the illusion to fade away, he spun around and blocked, with both Wilt and Blush, a downward slash. Belladonna kept pressing forward, spurred on by Taurus being pushed back.

"Impressive," she noted.

Taurus gave no response, but the message sent through his smile was clear.

'_Same to you.'_

Pulling the trigger again, the force of the blast knocked the barrel of Blush into Gambol Shroud, which was sheathed into it's cleaver. Gambol Shroud was knocked aside, and Taurus jabbed Wilt towards Belladonna. She stepped back, and pushed Gambol Shroud back towards him. They entered a clash of blades, sparks flying around as their swords met each other, both even in speed and skill. Then Taurus found an opening. Shooting Blush against her blades up close, forcing them upward, he pushed forward with Wilt.

Another clone took her place, and this time, the real one was hidden meters away, behind the illusion. With Gambol Shroud unsheathed in it's pistol form, she fired at Taurus. In a remarkably quick sweep, he sheathed half of his sword into Blush, and blocked the bullets as they bounced off the sturdy metal. Belladonna tried to aim for areas other than his chest, but he was quicker; He kept moving his blade to stop them all.

As soon as she stopped firing to try out another strategy, the rest of Wilt was sheathed. The masked swordsman turned to his left, his grip on his blade tightening, before he pressed the trigger.

This time, a large, red wave of energy was released from the sword as it was slashed towards Belladonna. It came quick-too quick. Without any time to block or avoid it, she was knocked back and crashed against the wall.

She tried to get back up on her feet and resume fighting, but when she finally got her vision back, Taurus was there, his hand outstretched.

"It's over."

His surprisingly soft voice surprised her. He was right, though; Belladonna could feel how much aura she'd lost from just one attack from the beast. And she hadn't even gotten a solid hit on him.

She grabbed on to his hand, and was pulled on to her feet.

"Thank you, Taurus."

"Aww, you two are best buds now." Roman called from the door, the two caught off guard by his sudden appearance. "But I'll have to break up this little 'Tauradonna' romance. Kitty-cat, you had a test. You failed. Really badly. Like-Seriously, you sucked a lot, much worse than the worst of our expectations, which is not good at all, so you're off the crew." Without sparing a second glance at the android, Roman headed towards the stairs, but Taurus held his hand out to stop him. "Hm?" He hummed impatiently.

"Let her on," He said. Roman frowned.

"Look, it failed the test. It can't-"

"Let. _Her._ On." Taurus almost growled. Though there was no emotion in his voice, there was still the sign of something sharp and dangerous hidden behind his mask.

Roman studied him curiously, before sighing. With a shrug, he relented. "Okay then, but if it screws up, its on your head." He walked out grumbling, his grip on his cane noticeably tighter than before.

Belladonna looked at Taurus. Though she didn't show it, she was confused by his actions. "Why did you do that?"

"I need you on this mission." He answered simply.

"Taurus, the results of the battle and your skill level make it clear that you can handle-"  
>"Adam." He interrupted. For the first time, Belladonna frowned, perplexed at her partner's behavior.<p>

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"Call me...Adam." This time, Adam said it with more certainty and confidence, a trait Belladonna noted was not usual of androids.

Belladonna's head tilted in curiosity. She'd never heard that name being used to call Taurus before. "Is that an assigned name that I've not heard of?"

Adam shook his head, turning away to walk up the stairs. "It's one I chose for myself."

"Like a nickname?" Belladonna recalled from her earlier conversation with Roman. Though she couldn't see it, Adam's brows furrowed.

"...Yes." He answered, his tone suggesting surprise at Belladonna's analogy.

This only added more gave Belladonna more questions that she wanted answers to. "Why would you do that?"

As if he were expecting it, Adam said, "Because it's one of the few things you can do to make yourself..._human._"

She stared, trying to process this...statement. But she couldn't understand it. Why pretend to be something you're not? She voiced her concern aloud.

"But we're not humans."

"No…" Adam stopped, turning back to face Belladonna. He frowned, as if he were trying to recall something but he couldn't remember what. With a mysterious edge to his tone, he finished with, "We're not," then headed out the room.

Belladonna was left standing alone, trying to piece together what Taurus-_Adam_-was trying to say. They weren't humans, they were robots that had masters. Orders to be carried out. So why choose a name for oneself?

...Then again, she supposed it couldn't hurt, would it? Besides, she wasn't disobeying any orders, and Belladonna was starting to sound too...long. Perhaps not sharp enough for her, which was closest to a description of any discomfort she had with her assigned name. Maybe something else, just enough to describe her. But how WOULD she describe herself?

Well, her attire was mainly black, that was the one thing she was most sure of at the moment.

With the thought of a new name in mind, she smiled, but she didn't know why.

* * *

><p>Day 2 - 21:36<p>

A loud gunshot pierced through a light pole, forcing it to crash down on and trap the creature that Rose was fighting. The creature made some sort of noise-It sounded like a growl, but it was distorted as if it were coming through multiple layers of water.

Rose slammed the tip of her scythe into the ground, and took aim. "I win!" She cheered, pulling the trigger. The bullet went straight through its head, and it's entire body burst into green sparks and flashes.

"YEES!" Rose screamed, throwing her arms towards the sky. "I WON! YOU LOST! I'M THE HERO, YOU'RE-"

Rose was interrupted when she heard a familiar charging sound.

"...still alive." She finished grumpily, swinging Crescent Rose's blade in front of her to shield herself from the oncoming blast. But it never came.

"...Huh?"

She took a closer look, and realized that the sparks were slowly coming together. Eventually, they reformed in to a green...puddle. The miniature pond slithered towards a nearby manhole, to which Rose gave chase.

"Hey, hey, that's not fair! You're not allowed to run, I won!"

The creature didn't pay attention; Once it reached the manhole, it dripped through and was gone in to the sewers.

She stared at the place it dripped through, a much more serious frown on his face. All childish thoughts had left her head.

_What ever that thing is...It's going to come back. _

On a rooftop above, Roman Torchwick frowned. "You've GOT to be kidding me." Stamping his foot on the roof, he grimaced. "Some God of Destruction _you_ are, Auron. How'd you get beat by some little kid?!"

After venting his rage on to a chimney(Which likely ended with some bruises on his foot), he headed towards the edge of the rooftop. Sliding down a ladder, he landed in an alley that hid his truck.

"If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself."

* * *

><p>Day 1 - 22:29<p>

The forest in the Mystic Ruins started to shake. Wildlife scattered to evade the oncoming threat as a massive plume of dust erupted from the earth. And out of the growing cloud of debris, rose a gigantic airship. It's appearance was similar to that of an Atlesian Airship, but instead of a dark color, it's scheme was mainly red and yellow. And there were also a large amount of artillery scattered throughout its bottom and sides. Cannons were set evenly in rows along the bottom of its slim body, and turrets littered throughout its sides. An Atlesian Airship had 'wings' that were connected to the square engines that stuck out from the main body. This one had large, jet turbines built into the back for a much, higher speed and acceleration.

As the massive behemoth rose up towards the skies, it broke through the clouds and stopped, hovering in midair as Dust gathered in its boosters. They went off, and the airship slowly took off towards its destination.

Inside its control room, a tired Roman was trying to get the attention of his boss.

"Hey, Cinder! Remind me again what's going to make this attempt so different from the last time our goons tried to blow up the shield and failed miserably."

Cinder Fall's expression didn't change, her eyes never leaving the screen that showed a zoomed-in image of the Master Crystal. "We have something that can penetrate it."

Roman frowned. This was news to him; He'd never heard of this before in their discussions of their plan. "And what would that be?"

Cinder pointed towards a screen. Roman looked, and with the touch of a button, the view changed to that of a camera hidden in their engine room. It was a mess of wires, pipes, and other machinery that the rogue couldn't hope to identify.

One thing, however, caught his eye.

The majority of the wires connected to large ones, and those large ones connected to the base and the top of a glass tube in the center of the room. Inside of it, floating in mid-air, was a small, diamond-shaped yellow jewel.

"An Auron Crystal?!"

Her smile was her only answer to Roman's shock. "When this is over, you are to hunt the beast and goad it to our side with it. I trust that you know what to do next?"

Once he got past his surprise, he sighed. Smiling, he nodded. "You got it, boss lady."

* * *

><p>Belladonna and Adam were on the deck of the ship. Adam had his arms crossed on the railing, staring out into the open sky, yet his eyes weren't truly taking in the sight. It was as if he were in a trance. A familiar voice broke him out of it.<p>

"Is something the matter...Adam?"

He turned to see his partner, Belladonna, walk up to him. "I'm fine. There's no need to worry."

She nodded, and watched as he returned to his previous brooding. With a curious tilt of the head, she observed the way he positioned his arms. It was...interesting. She tried to copy it, resting her own arms on the railing, an attempt that Adam found amusing.

"What're you doing, Belladonna?" He asked.

"I don't know, but it feels...Comfortable." She answered, watching the clouds with him. Then she remembered. "I followed your advice."

"Hm?" Adam grunted, not understanding her statement. She turned her head to look at him, and he mirrored the gesture.

"I've picked a name for myself."

Adam stared at her, surprised. It took her this fast to think of something? "What is your new name, then?" He asked, eager to know what she chose.

She took a moment to go over the name in her mind. Although she was sure it was the one for her, it'd take some time to get used to a decision such as this that was made by herself instead of from her superiors.

"Blake."

Adam froze, going over the name as it rolled around in his head. She took notice to his strange behavior, and asked, "Are you alright, Adam?"

His lips quivered, as if he was trying to say something, but he shook his head. "I…"

"Okay, you morons, time to wake up!"

They both turned to see Roman and Cinder walk across the center of the deck. Roman had some sort of walkie-talkie in his hand. "Listen up, robots and humans and anim-Faunus, Faunus!" He corrected himself, trying to ignore the stares of the White Fang members that watched him carefully. "It's time to get ready. 'Cause TODAY! RIGHT NOW! It's the mark of our new mission to take over the world!"

As he said this, the ship came to a halt. And below them, sitting in plain view, was a gigantic, floating island.

"That there, is Angel Island. You may recognize it as that one rock where we've tried to invade it, but kept failing because it kept pushing us back with it's energy. Well, worry no longer! We've got something that can break it's shield!" He grinned, watching as some of the crew visibly perked at this new piece of information. "Cinder?" He gestured towards her, stepping away as she watched the island closely.

"What you are about to witness…" Cinder smiled. "...is the birth of a new age."

Something beneath the ship started to gather energy. It was one of the cannons placed to the hull for defense purposes, but it was charging with the energy of the Auron crystal. All though it looked like a regular, metallic firing device, it's ammunition was being infused with the unique Aura of the crystal.

The cannon fired. It left behind a yellow, bright streak as it flew through the clouds. It was small, but the energy in it that came from the Crystal wasn't meant for power.

For a moment, it stopped, hovering in mid-air. If one looked closely, there were distortions coming out of it, like ripples but in mid-air. Then, it broke through Angel Island's energy shield.

It dropped right on to the Master Crystal, and it shattered. Out of it came the prize Cinder had been waiting to attain.

"So that's Auron…" Adam muttered, looking off the side of the deck. Blake looked with him, but was only thrown off by the creature that had just emerged out of that glowing, green stone. "What is it?" She couldn't keep herself from asking.

"Supposedly, the source of all Aura in all living beings. Ironic, since it's also said to be the God of Destruction, responsible for a massacre that plagued humanity eons ago." Adam answered, his hidden eyes locked on to the creature as it battled with the guardian of the island.

It was a very short one. Once the guardian was thrown off the stairs, the creature plowed through the forest until it jumped right off the edge of the island. All of these events were watched by Roman and Cinder, who were impressed and joyous.

Even with its display of power, Roman couldn't help but quip, "I expected it to be bigger."

Cinder frowned. She would've scolded him, but she couldn't help it. Her expectations of the monster...slightly outmatched the real thing.

"...Me too."

* * *

><p><strong>There is a TON of exposition in certain segments of this chapter, ugh.<strong>

**Also, the Auron Crystals are diamond-shape as in a diamond jewel, not like the diamond in geometry. For a better image, just look up "Chaos Emeralds" and those are pretty much it. Also-That specific shape is suppose to be the shape of the Master Crystal, too(Look up Master Emerald and that's also pretty much it). Typed 'Emerald' in the last chapter by accident, my bad!**

**And the diamond in Pyrrha's circlet IS the diamond shape in geometry. The classic, elongated diagonal square diamond, that one.**

**This is the LONGEST chapter I've EVER written. Also the hardest.**

**But yeah, I apologize for the scattered timeline thing, but I'll make sure to put one up in the A/N in the next chapter! Speaking of which, this should be the last time we see scattered time lines and POVs. From now on, I'm going to try and just keep it linear.**

**Sorry this took so long, R&R, and thanks for reading!**


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